Active clinical trials for "Fetal Growth Retardation"

Fetal growth restriction is one of the major causes of perinatal morbidity, mortality and adverse neurological outcome. Growth restricted fetuses do not reach their potential due to multiple factors. Although early (<32 weeks' gestation) FGR is associated with the highest risk of adverse outcomes, late FGR (≤ 32 weeks' gestation) is more common in daily maternal-fetal medicine care. Despite its' prevalence, optimal standard for monitoring differs between the centers and may be difficult in case of limited access to advanced perinatal care. We present a protocol for COmputerized CTG Self-MOnitoring versus Standard Doppler assessment in Late-onset FGR (COSMOS) trial, which is a prospective, cross-over, open-label and randomized trial that compares two different protocols for late-onset FGR observation. All women carrying fetuses with late-onset FGR with positive end-diastolic flow in umbilical artery will be invited to participate in the randomized trial. Patients will be randomly divided into two groups: CTG - a group that will receive electronic device for cCTG home assessment, and Doppler - a group that will be monitored according to standard Doppler velocimetry criteria. Further management will depend on the arm of the study. Pregnancy and neonatal outcomes will be collected and analyzed.

This stepped wedge cluster randomized clinical trial investigates whether in pregnant women with severe, early-onset fetal growth restriction, the use of STV analysis in fetal monitoring improves the chances of perinatal survival, compared with visual evaluation of the cardiotocography.

Objectives / Specific Aims The purpose of this study is to investigate the acute effects of a single bout of moderate intensity maternal exercise on fetal well-being in a pregnancy affected by fetal growth restriction. Fetal well-being will be measured by biophysical profile (BPP), non-stress test (NST) and umbilical artery dopplers. The hypothesis is that a single bout of maternal exercise will not significantly alter fetal well-being or fetal status.

Fetal growth restriction during pregnancy represents one of the biggest risk factors for stillbirth (Gardosi et al, 2013), with 'about one in three term, normally formed antepartum stillbirths are related to abnormalities of fetal growth' (MBRRACE, 2015). Therefore, antenatal detection of growth restricted babies is vital in order to be able to monitor and decide the appropriate delivery timing. However, antenatal detection of SGA babies has been poor, varying greatly across trusts in England in those that calculate their rates (NHS England, 2016). Most trusts do not calculate their detection rates and rates are therefore unknown. It is estimated that routine NHS care detects only 1 in 4 growth restricted babies (Smith, 2015). Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, in partnership with the Oxford Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) has introduced a clinical care pathway (the Oxford Growth Restriction Pathway (OxGRIP)) designed to increase the rates of detection of these at risk babies. The pathway is intended to increase the identification of babies who are at risk of stillbirth, in order to try to prevent this outcome, whilst making best usage of resources, and restricting inequitable practice and unnecessary obstetric intervention. It has been developed with reference to a body of research, however, the individual parts of care provided have not been put together in a pathway in this manner before. Therefore it is important to examine whether the pathway meets its goals of improving outcomes for babies in a 'real world' setting. The principles of the pathway are A universal routine scan at 36 weeks gestation. Additional growth scans at 28 and 32 weeks gestation based on a simplified assessment of risk factors and universal uterine artery Doppler at 20 weeks gestation. Assessment of further parameters other than estimated fetal weight associated with adverse perinatal outcome (eg growth velocity, umbilical artery Doppler and CPR). The clinical data routinely collected as a result of the introduction of the pathway offers a valuable and unique resource in identifying and analysing in the effects of the pathway on its intended outcomes and also in investigating and analysing other maternal, fetal and neonatal complications and outcomes, establishing normal / reference ranges for ultrasound values.

Pregnancy is considered a cardiovascular (CV) stress test, and complicated pregnancies are associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) later in life. Moreover, it is known that often the pregnancy induced CV adaptation does not resolve completely after a short postpartum (PP) period and it is not clear whether these induced changes will resolve over a longer period of time (i.e. in the upcoming months/years after delivery). Understanding the cardiac adaptation during pregnancy and the reversal process in the postpartum period, as well as the factors that influence this these processes, may provide us not only insight in this mechanism, but may help us in identifying factors that may be target points for modification.

Individually, both opioid and cannabis exposure during pregnancy are associated with changes in fetal growth. The extent to which opioid and cannabis exposure affect fetal growth is unknown. The Investigators hypothesize that the combination of both substances will impact placental function and subsequent fetal growth more severely than either substance alone. The primary objective is to determine the extent to which fetal growth profiles in opioid-exposed pregnancies are influenced by cannabis exposure. This prospective cohort study will consist of opioid-exposed pregnancies and pregnancies without opioid exposure recruited from 5 obstetrical clinics from across Ontario. A total of 546 participants will be recruited.

The purpose of this prospective cohort study is to build a large platform that includes clinical information (prenatal diagnosis and postnatal follow-up data) and biological specimen banks of fetuses/infants with IUGR or congenital anomalies, which provide vital support and research foundation for accurate diagnosis, precision treatment and meticulous management.

This is a study of the feasibility of a translational research clinic for pregnancies conceived by in vitro fertilisation (IVF). A group of at least 120 pregnancies (of which, at least 80 IVF-conceived) will be followed from early pregnancy to delivery, in order to gain early insights into the growth of the baby before birth, the physical and emotional adaptation of the mother to the pregnancy and how the placenta works. The investigators will collect preliminary data on how these factors may differ between pregnancies conceived with and without IVF, and between different IVF treatment modalities such as fresh or "frozen" embryo transfer IVF. The study aims to understand the practicalities of such a clinic, to identify barriers to participation in the clinic, to assess the uptake of different research measurements and to identify key measurements/time points with the greatest potential to identify and understand the origin of fetal growth and maternal adaptation differences after IVF conception in a full scale study.

Introduction: The high incidence of intrauterine growth restriction is a public health problem; in this pathology, newborns present weight below the 10th percentile, this implies an increase in morbidity in the short term (complications due to hypoxia) and long term (pathologies typical of Fetal Programming) as well as the cost of health services. L-arginine at different doses has been used for some pathologies such as preeclampsia with controversial results. Authors have mentioned that the joint administration of l-citrulline can increase the efficacy of l-arginine. A stunted fetus is a challenge for the fetal physician; due to the complexity of the follow-up, but above all to determine the moment for the termination of the pregnancy. Finding some treatment to promote weight gain would improve the short- and long-term expectations of these infants. General objective To determine the efficacy of L-arginine + L-Citrulline (3 / 2g) every 24 hours, in fetuses with a decrease in their growth curve in the third trimester of pregnancy. Material and methods Clinical trial, parallel, controlled, randomized simple, Double blind. Two groups of pregnant women will be carried out in the third trimester; fetus with a decrease in its growth curve, percentile> 10 and <25 for gestation age, they will be given an informed consent letter and they will be randomized (double blind), they will proceed to give intervention (L-arginine + Citrin (3 / 2 g) every 24 hours Vs placebo), a follow-up will be carried out every two weeks, where the weight and growth curve will be calculated in percentile, until the resolution of the pregnancy and data will be taken from the perinatal results in both groups. Statistic analysis Medics of central tendency will be calculated and Chi squared will be applied for qualitative variables, T of student for qualitative variables and it is considered P <0.005.

Babies may be born appropriately grown for gestational age (AGA, >10th centile) or small for gestational age (SGA, <10th centile). Babies who are SGA and have evidence in utero of vascular compromise using antenatal doppler indices are classified as having fetal growth restriction (FGR). Babies with FGR are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease in adult life. Increased arterial stiffness and intima-media thickness are thought to mediate this risk in adults. It is not known how early in life these changes can be robustly detected. In addition, very little is known generally about how babies' hearts and arteries change in structure and function over the first year of life, whether affected by SGA or not. This study aims to understand if there are differences in cardiac and arterial structure and function between babies born AGA or SGA. Within the group of SGA babies, the study team will investigate whether FGR and maternal pre-eclampsia influence these measurements. The effects gestational age on these parameters will be studied within all groups: half of the babies recruited will be <32 weeks gestational age (GA), and half will be ≥32 weeks GA. Study participants will have further measurements at 3-6 months of life to assess if cardiac and arterial structure and function change in babies over the first year of life. The study team will use the Vicorder device to measure arterial stiffness, and assess the feasibility of using this device in neonates. The Vicorder will also be used to measure cardiac output. The feasibility and validity of this device for this purpose will be investigated (Vicorder is not validated for cardiac output measurement in infants). Vicorder cardiac output results will be compared to echocardiography and bioimpedence technology (using the NICaS monitor). The study team will use ultrasound for arterial structure measurements of the carotid artery and aorta.